Monthly Archives: March 2016

March 12, 2016 · 9:02 am

The Rumors of Larry’s Death Were Not Greatly Exaggerated (Part 10)

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I began this series on January 10, 2015, but because nothing was moving forward for me, I placed it on hold. Now things are happening again. So, I’ve decided to rerun the earlier parts before I began anew. If you don’t want to wait, you can read the first ten parts in their entirety here.

Twenty years ago, if you would have asked, “What will you say when your publishing company is successful?”

I would have quickly answered by singing a Toby Keith song: “How do you like me now? Now that I’m on my way. Do you still think I’m crazy, standing here today? I couldn’t make you love me, but I always dreamed about…How do you like me now?”

You see, when you’re walking through the wildernesses designed just for you by God, there’s not a lot of people who believe in you because of your mistakes and how unsuccessful you appear to them. If you bother to mention your dreams to others, you invite ridicule and the inevitable questions: “How?” and “When?”

And all you can do is shrug your shoulders at their queries.

But in all this, you have to hold onto the promises given to you by God. You can’t ever let go of them. Each day, you must thank the Lord for your publishing company and your promises being fulfilled, even if you’re sleeping in a car and eating out of dumpsters. Walking by faith is not an easy path for anyone.

So, for a major part of my journey through the wilderness, I kept going for one major reason: the desire to prove my worth to others. I wanted to show them that I heard God’s voice and that He honored me for my perseverance.

Today, if you asked me the same question, I would answer, “It was by His grace and I deserve no credit for any success.”

Somehow, in the wilderness, it no longer became about me and my quest, it became all about Him.

(Continued in Part 11)

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March 11, 2016 · 11:15 am

The Rumors of Larry’s Death Were Not Greatly Exaggerated (Part 9)

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From the articles I have read, most of today’s authors follow fairly rigid disciplines and begin writing at a set hour. Each has a certain amount of words they hope to write for the day. The number of words falls generally in the 1000 to 2000 words range.

Since, I did not know any better when the Lord told me to write, I set my early goals at 1200 words per day. This worked out to about four or five pages of new material per day.

Yet, I remember many, many days when I would bang away on the computer for a couple of hours and maybe had 650 words done, but then realized something was missing. Sadly, that something was the presence of the Holy Spirit. I would then end up deleting every word I wrote.

It would be great to pretend that I am a quick learner, but the truth is that it took months and months for me to learn this process for myself. I now sit down and if the presence of the Holy Spirit isn’t there, I don’t write.

Just so you know, I do not claim to write straight from the mouth of the Lord…oh I wish I did! But I do claim that His presence needs to be there to comfort and encourage me as I write.

Okay, a few days ago, I came up with what I think was an inspired opening for the next Luke and Cat Stoner novel. And almost 700 words later, the book was on its way. I saw the characters coming to life, where they lived, and a little bit of what would happen in the early stages. It was so exciting that I now fall asleep thinking about the story.

So, the other day, I sought the presence of the Lord and this is my latest writing:

Yep, we’re talking about what looks like another major detour in my publishing career. What’s new, huh?

Who ever thought that I would end up attempting to start a Noontime Prayer Meeting For Geezers?

(Continued in Part 10)

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March 10, 2016 · 4:54 pm

Thursday’s Prayers for America (3/10/2016)

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As a Christian car salesman at a General Motors/Toyota dealership in Iowa, many of my Christian friends stopped to see me when they were ready to buy a new car. Now, can you guess how many of them purchased new cars from me? None. Zero. Zilch.

The usual scenario would go something like this:

The husband and wife would stop by the dealership. I would show them the cars, they would choose one. I then would give them every possible discount and rebate the dealership would allow me to offer them on a new car. When I asked them if they were ready to sign the order, they invariably said, “We need to pray about this.”

The next day I would see them driving a competitor’s new car.

I would call them up and ask why they bought from my competitor instead of me. The usual answer: “Your competitor beat your deal by $50.”

This happened so often that I sought the Lord in prayer. “Lord, why are You telling my Christian friends to buy from a pagan salesman, rather than from me? Don’t I always pay tithes and offerings on my commissions? What does the pagan salesmen give You?”

In a clear voice, I felt the Lord said to my heart, “They never asked Me and I never told them to buy from your competitor.”

My prayer today:

Lord, I pray that American believers – as they have opportunity – do good to everyone, but especially to those who are of the family of God so that at just the right time they will reap a harvest of blessings. (Based on Galatians 6:9-10)

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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March 9, 2016 · 9:22 am

The Rumors of Larry’s Death Were Not Greatly Exaggerated (Part 8)

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Ten thousand and seventy-four days ago, a female minister named Linda Sutter (Olson) pointed to me as I sat in a pew of a small church and asked me to stand up. She then began prophesying to me: “God is doing a quick work in you…”

Even today when I look at her prophetic words, which I wrote down in the back of my Bible, I laugh at God’s idea of a “quick work” versus mine. I thought it would be months, certainly not 10,074 days or nearly thirty years.

But let me tell you a little bit about Linda Sutter Olson.

During the early 1970’s, the Lord told her to go into full-time ministry as a teacher and a prophetess, but she had at least three problems. First, she was a woman. Second, her pastor would not endorse her ministry. Third, she did not have any contacts.

What could she do?

She sent out a few flyers to area churches, but had no responses. No one seemed to need her ministry.

One day, Linda was driving through rural Iowa and stopped at a diner in a small town. She sat down at a table and ordered her lunch. Linda noticed the couple sitting at the table next to her had received their meals and were praying before they ate.

She leaned over and said, “It’s nice to see a couple pray together in a restaurant.”

“Oh, you’re a Christian,” replied the husband. “Why don’t you join us for lunch? We would enjoy fellowshipping with you.”

The couple turned out to be a pastor and his wife. The pastor ended up inviting Linda to minister at his church that evening.

Linda eventually ministered in numerous large churches and then traveled to Russia, Albania, India, Eastern Europe, China, and the Philippines. But every door that opened to her calling could be traced back to that chance encounter at a diner in a small town in Iowa.

So, when I look at the boxes of books in our closets, I like to think that I’m just one divine encounter away from publishing success.

(Continued in Part 9)

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March 8, 2016 · 2:56 pm

Tuesday’s Prayers for Prisoners (3/8/20160

Just the other day, the Lord impressed on my heart that I had not faithfully prayed and fasted for all of the Asian nations. He then showed me the Middle East nations, which I had overlooked. So, for the next few weeks, I will fast and pray for these Asian nations.

SYRIA: 22.85 million people (90% Muslim and 6.3% Christian)

The civil war that erupted in March 2011 has killed more than 191,000 people, displaced more than a million people within its borders and has sent more than 2.9 million fleeing across the country’s borders, according to U.N. reports. One in every eight Syrians has fled the country, a million more than in 2013. The majority of these have fled into neighboring Lebanon, Jordan, and Turkey. (Voice of the Martyrs)

In the above 4-minute video a Christian leader says: “We have something more important than anything else that makes us stay in the country, that something is the life-giving message from the Lord. We are ambassadors of the Lord…if heaven withdrew its ambassadors from our country, it is a disaster. Our privilege is not that we are able to leave Syria, but our privilege is that we are able to stay in this country for such a time as this.”

“Whatever you do in life, it begins with concern,” said Brother Andrew of Open Doors. “These are people who are a part of the Body of Christ. If you want something easy in life, I advise you not to get involved with the Syrian Church. There is a price to be paid. ‘Unless you deny yourself and follow Me,’ He said, ‘you cannot be My disciples.’ Nothing ever starts suddenly. Always one thing leading up to another, as long as you keep saying, ‘Yes to God.'”

My prayer today:

Lord, I pray that You strengthen the Christians who remain in Syria so that they hold fast to what they have received. May they all be overcomers who are clothed in white garments so that You confess their names before the Father and His angels. (Based on Revelation 3: 2-5)

Join with me on Tuesdays to fast and pray for prisoners in Asia, according to Hebrews 13:3.

Why Asia?

1. 4.4 billion people live in Asia.

2.. 85.4% of world’s unevangelized people live in Asia. (Unevangelized means they may have heard the gospel but have no understanding on how to respond.)

3. The world’s three largest non-Christian religions – Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhists – are based in Asia.

4. Of the 37 countries of the world that are less than 10% Christian, 32 are in Asia. Of the 14 countries, that are less than 2% Christian, 12 are in Asia.

5. 600 million people live in abject poverty in the slums of Asia.

6. 85-90% of unreached people live in Asia. (Unreached means that they have never heard the name of Jesus.) (Operation World: The Definitive Prayer Guide to Every Nation)

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March 7, 2016 · 8:50 am

The Rumors of Larry’s Death Were Not Greatly Exaggerated (Part 7)

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One of my favorite prophetic words was spoken to me in the Spring of 1994. It happened when a friend and her husband stopped by the house to see me on their way to a restaurant.

“Larry, the Lord knows how much you love to preach, but He wants you to do something first for Him, before you do any more preaching. Then afterward, you can preach all you want,” she said.

The “something” the Lord wanted me to do first turned out to be – start a paint contracting company, which ended up being a total disaster. I am still suffering from its fallout, twenty years later.

And preaching? I still laugh when I think about the Lord saying to me: “Then afterward, you can preach all you want.”

You see, what was missing in the prophetic words was that the Lord was going to squeeze every drop of desire out of me to preach and be on a stage ever again. The guy who used to love to preach died often in countless trials over the last twenty years. I absolutely do not miss him and, in fact, I abhor the guy I used to be.

Okay, how does this fit into publishing?

I have two thousand copies of The Day LA Died, ready to be marketed through whatever way the Lord shows me, like Christian book stores, churches, and advertisements. The two thousand copies weigh a total of 1900 pounds and are stored in closets throughout the house. It would be nice to free up the closet space again.

But first, I feel the Lord wants me to do something for Him, something which, of course, has nothing to do with publishing.

So, if you believe that walking with the Lord is the shortest distance between point A and point B, I have bad news for you. That is usually not the case. There will be plenty of time-consuming zigs and zags and stops along the way, but I also guarantee, it will be the greatest adventure of your life.

(Continued in Part 8)

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March 6, 2016 · 8:24 am

The Rumors of Larry’s Death Were Not Greatly Exaggerated (Part 6)

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Have you ever heard of Fred Smith?

When Smith attended Yale in the 1960s, he wrote a term paper, which invented an industry and dreamed of changing the impossible into the possible. His professor couldn’t visualize the revolutionary implications of Smith’s ideas and gave Smith’s term paper an average grade. The professor’s reasoning: the business was not feasible.

Smith’s impossible dream became a reality on April 17, 1973, when Federal Express began operations with 389 employees, 14 planes, and 186 packages in Memphis, Tennessee. The packages were flown to 25 cities and delivered the following day.

Today, we think little about dropping a package off at a Federal Express site or a competitive carrier and then expecting the package to be delivered the next day or soon after. Yet, the whole air/land express industry was just a dream fifty years ago and pooh-poohed by experts at the time.

Let’s say that I sat next to Fred Smith in his business class at Yale and also had to write a term paper on a proposed business, just like Smith did. For my business model, being the believer that I am today, I would have written:

1. My publishing company will have no partners, except for family.

2. It will never ask for money.

3. With the exception of book stores and eBook publishers, my publishing company will not set prices for its books.

4. My publishing company will operate under the U.S. and state business laws as a business and not as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, tax exempt organization.

5. The millions of dollars generated by my publishing company will help feed and care for the poor and needy of the world.

What do you think the professor would have said to me after reading my paper?

The professor probably would have called me into his office, closed the door, and stared at me for a few minutes in total quiet. Maybe he would have shaken his head and blown out a deep breath before saying, “Son, you remind me of the two guys who came up with the brilliant idea of buying watermelons in San Diego for $1 each and then hauling them to LA and selling them two for a dollar. Business was great, but it wasn’t long before the two men learned they were losing lots of money. One of the guys finally came up with an idea. ‘We need a bigger truck so we can be like K-Mart and make up our losses with bigger volume.'”

I can guess what my grade would have been on the paper. Can you?

(Continued in Part 7)

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March 5, 2016 · 8:20 am

The Rumors of Larry’s Death Were Not Greatly Exaggerated (Part 5)

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Basilea Schlink (1904 – 2001) was born in Darmstadt, Germany. After World War II, Schlink felt the need to repent for Germany’s cruel deeds. To do this, she became a Lutheran nun and along with Erika Madauss founded The Evangelical Sisterhood of Mary in 1947. Schlink wrote over fifty-five books, but my favorite is Realities of Faith:

In 1949, a year after the currency reform, the first products of the publishing house and our works of art were ready to be placed on the market. The question arose, should we actually sell our products?…

Within me a concept took shape, clear and sharply defined – a mental picture painted by the Sermon on the Mount, that for those who seek first the kingdom of God “all these things shall be yours as well” (Matthew 6:33). A word began to sound clearly in my heart – “Father.” He will provide, He will prove Himself a Father to His children. But that meant that we, as His children, must provide the opportunity for Him to do so…

How could all this take place? It became more and more clear to me. We must let loose our security and protection; we must surrender ourselves to utter dependence upon our Heavenly Father. This would give Him the opportunity to care for us and show His miracles. It meant the surrender of all security and steady income. We would depend on Him for everything. By faith and prayer we would stand upon His word, “give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over.” (Luke 6:38)

…We set no fee on our services. Our literary works, our arts and crafts carried no price tag. This meant that now we would be totally dependent upon the Father in heaven…

We began from that point to walk in this pathway. It made our Sisterhood truly a fellowship of prayer. Every day we started out with nothing. From a human viewpoint we stood before mountains of worries which had to be prayed away. So we had endless opportunities to present God with the many promises of Scripture – bringing them like an “IOU,” asking Him to redeem them. (Realities of Faith by M. Basilea Schlink, Bethany House, excerpts from pages 33 – 35)

That’s right! Schlink and her sisters did not put prices on her books. Did this cause them any problems?

Schlink tells the story about how the sisterhood had spent all of their money on printing books and pamphlets for a booth at an outdoor fair. A young man walked up with a black suitcase and learned that their publications were free. He dumped every book and pamphlet into his suitcase and walked away. Schlink wrote: “Wouldn’t this way of doing things bankrupt us?”

Yet, God always provided for them.

Okay, how can a businessman, like me, possibly hope to survive in the cutthroat publishing industry?

(Continued in Part 6)

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March 4, 2016 · 8:54 am

The Rumors of Larry’s Death Were Not Greatly Exaggerated (Part 4)

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“I would much rather be the trusting child of a rich Father, than a beggar at the door of worldly men.” (Tramp for the Lord by Corrie the Boom)

I have read Tramp for the Lord over and over again. The book’s thirty-five chapters are spread over nearly two hundred pages and filled with godly wisdom. Chapter Twelve – God Will Provide – has helped to shape part of my business approach to publishing.

The people in America seem to feel I should not hesitate to ask for money for my ministry, which supports other ministries such as Bible and book translations in many parts of the world. However from the very beginning of my ministry, I have felt it was wrong to ask for money – even to ask for travel expenses. I did not want to be paid for “services rendered.” I simply wanted to preach the gospel and let the Lord provide for me.

…Was God speaking to me? Was it wrong to speak of my own work while at the same time I urged people to be converted or to forgive their enemies? Was it wrong to listen to these Americans who were urging me to receive collections for my ministry? I dropped to my knees in prayer. God knew my needs.

The answer was very clear from the Lord. “From now on you must never again ask for money.” (Tramp for the Lord by Corrie ten Boom, excerpt from Chapter 12)

Just so you know: I do not believe every believer has to run their business like I do, and to be honest, I have no problem in asking for offerings for missionary ministries.

And also: The Lord dealt with my attitude about my books one day when He asked, “Do you believe people should read your books?”

I hemmed and hawed without really answering His question, but it did not take long before I realized He did not like my equivocating and false humility.

So, do I now believe in my books? Yes! Do I believe others should read them? Yes!

Another lady helped to further shape my business atitudes.

(Continued in Part 5)

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March 3, 2016 · 10:16 am

Thursday’s Prayers for America (3/3/2016)

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As footsteps approached, the twenty-eight year old man looked up from the cluttered workbench. His dark beard and long hair matted by perspiration, mixed with sawdust. Wet sweat rings outlined the armpits of his faded tunic. He laid the chisel and mallet down and stood up, wiping his hands together.

“Shalom, may I help you?” he said.

“Shalom,” said the middle-aged man with ringlets in his gray beard. Deep furrows etched his forehead. His off-white cloak and brown leather sandals were covered with dust from the road he had just traveled on.

“My wife says we need a new dining table. And you know how women are, right?” the man said with a wink. “Some of our neighbors have recommended your workmanship.”

The man folded his arms across his barrel-shaped chest, readying himself for whatever negotiations awaited him. He wanted a good deal.

The carpenter’s bronze-colored face blushed slightly at the compliment. A natural humility radiated through his eyes, which always put people at ease around him.

“That’s nice of your friends. However, to be completely honest, whatever skills I may possess are the result of being taught by the best carpenter in all of Galilee – Joseph, my dad.”

“Oh yes, I should have known,” the man said without moving his arms from their set position on his chest. “You’re the son of Joseph, huh? Who hasn’t heard of his woodworking skills?”

He leaned toward the carpenter.

“What do you think the table will cost me? And remember I have three sons and their families living with me. Oy vey! You can’t believe how much they eat.”

The young carpenter nodded.

“Hmm, let me think for a few minutes.”

The carpenter looked around the shop. He turned and walked to the back of the room, pulling out boards from a large pile, and checking each. After a few minutes, he nodded to himself as if he had it all figured out. He returned to the man.

“If you want the table made out of fir, it will cost fifteen shekels. Oak will be five shekels more. The choice is up to you,” the carpenter said with his eyebrows arched in anticipation of a response from the buyer.

The man unfolded his arms. His shocked expression looked as though a sharp sword had pierced his heart. He gasped and pounded his chest with both fists.

“Your price is much higher than I could have ever imagined. Fifteen shekels, how outrageous! I just can’t believe it.”

He turned around and stomped off. Before he reached the shop’s entrance, he stopped and looked back.

“I’m curious. Do you offer discounts to your more impoverished buyers…people like me?”

The carpenter sighed.

“Okay. Let me think,” he said, rubbing his jaw with his hand. “If you pay cash today, I can do it for thirteen shekels. The table will be done in two weeks.”

The man stood like a statue.

“I had a price more like eleven shekels in mind,” the man said in a clipped voice. Then he added, “And not one shekel more.”

The carpenter shrugged his shoulders and raised his arms in surrender.

“Okay, you win,” he said, shaking his head slowly back and forth. “I have some expenses coming up in a few days. This is my final offer: twelve shekels and it will be ready for you in ten days. Take it or leave it.”

The man walked toward the carpenter.

“Though eleven shekels is a very fair price, I’m going to give in and pay your outrageous price of twelve shekels.”

The buyer stretched out his right hand and shook the hand of the young carpenter named Jesus. As he did, he felt the calluses and strength in his hand.

(Jesus Was First A Businessman, an excerpt from Deceived Dead & Delivered by Larry Nevenhoven, ©2013, Amazon eBook)

My prayer for today:

Lord, raise up an army of American businessmen, like the Apostle Paul, Jeremiah Lamphier, Samuel Hill, John Nicholson, William Knights, or Demos Shakarian, who are willing to invade the marketplace with the love of Jesus Christ and plant fellowships in business communities.

What do you think and has the Lord spoken to you today?

Join with me on Thursdays to fast and pray for America.

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